French economy minister calls for convergence on corporate tax with Germany

PARIS, June 23 (Reuters) - New French economy minister Bruno Le Maire has called for swift convergence with Germany on corporate tax, and said his government will implement "difficult" measures this summer to ensure France honours its European pledge on public spending.

In an interview with the French daily Le Figaro made available on Friday, Le Maire said his teams would draft proposals on taxes ahead of a Franco-German meeting scheduled for July 13.

"Our ambition is to achieve quick convergence of corporate tax. We want to move very fast," he said, adding that a reinforcement of the euro zone would also help make the bloc more competitive with China and the United States.

Le Maire also said the French government would take "difficult" domestic measures in the coming weeks to help France keep its word on public deficits, but did not elaborate.

He added that an existing tax break could be converted to a cut in employer contributions.

France, the euro zone's second largest economy, foresees a reduction in its deficit to 2.8 percent of gross domestic product this year, which would be the first time since 2007 that it has met an EU-imposed limit of 3 percent.